Ransom
by demigod-and-thief18
Summary: It was a normal day at school. Everything was exactly the same until Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase climbed onto the bus. Something was wrong. Very wrong. But Percy didn't realize it until he saw the gun. After that Annabeth clarified it for him: they were being kidnapped. Percabeth, possible Thalico and Tratie, no gods.
1. Chapter 1

** Hi guys. So this is a story that I sort of got an idea while reading a book that has this same idea. I just thought while reading it: what if Annabeth and Percy were in this situation? So that's how I got this idea. **

** Everyone is sixteen and goes to Goode High. Annabeth and Percy aren't dating (yet), and I might have Thalico later on. And same with Tratie. They aren't demigods, just normal teenagers. Enjoy the story! **

Percy's POV

It was just a normal day at school. They went to their classes, got bored to death, and got homework (because seven hours of school wasn't enough).

But as the day continued on, Percy remembered that his car was in the shop. He had gotten in a small car accident and need for his car to be fixed.

"Hey Wise Girl." Percy walked up to Annabeth Chase, his best friend, as she slammed her locker shut.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth smiled at Percy.

"Wise Girl, my car is in the shop. We've got to take the bus." Percy informed Annabeth as they walked out of their school, Goode High.

"That's alright. As long as we don't sit by Drew." Annabeth said, making a face. Percy chuckled and said, "Don't worry, we won't. She's probably going to try to get Jason to ask her out."

"Isn't Jason dating Piper McLean?"

"Do you think that'll stop Drew?"

The couple laughed and walked to their bus. They boarded the bus and found an empty seat.

A Mexican walked onto the bus and Percy didn't recognize him. Percy has ridden the bus a few times and everyone talked about how this was the lucky bus. All the other bus drivers were very strict, but this bus driver, Dave Anderson, was pretty laid back. It was also said that Anderson has never taken a day off once in the twenty years he has worked here.

"Who is that?" Annabeth asked Percy quietly. The man sat down in the driver's seat and pressed the intercom button.

"Mr. Anderson is sick today." The man's heavily accented voice boomed over all the noise of the students talking. They all got quiet and the man continued. "I am his temporarily replacement. My companion will be joining us."

Another man climbed onto the bus. He had dark hair and dark eyes that were cold. He was wearing a black leather jacket and had a tattoo of a star on the side of his neck.

The driver started the bus and pulled out.

Annabeth and Percy just shrugged and started talking again. After about ten minutes Percy saw the bus pass the turn to his neighborhood. He thought it was strange, but shrugged it off. The man probably had a route of his own.

Five minutes passed and the bus continued going straight.

"Percy, we're not in our neighborhood anymore." Annabeth said, fear threaded through her words.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at that sign! It says…_leaving Manhattan_. Percy, what's going on?!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"I-I don't know." Percy was overflowed with confusion. Leaving Manhattan? What did that mean? No one in Goode High lived outside of Manhattan.

Percy examined the bus. There were only a few students left. He recognized Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, Travis and Connor Stoll, Luke Castellan, and Katie Gardner. They looked just as confused as Annabeth and Percy felt.

"Okay," the driver's 'companion' shouted over the puzzled whispers. "I want everyone to move to the front seats."

No one moved.

"Now!" The man shouted angrily and everyone started to do as he said.

"You know where to go?" Percy heard the man's companion ask the driver.

"Yep." The driver nodded and took a sharp turn.

"Annabeth," Percy murmured. "What's going on…?" He stopped midsentence when the man in the leather jacket shifted his arm and Percy saw a pistol.

"It looks like…" Annabeth swallowed. "It looks like we're being kidnapped."


	2. Chapter 2

Thalia's POV

Thalia sighed and looked out the window, not wanting to make a conversation the person that sat next to her, Nico di Angelo. But unfortunately they were lab partners and had to work on an assignment together, meaning they had to go home together.

Nico glared. "I'm not emo! I just like black and things related to death."

Thalia snorted. "That's all the proof I need."

"Whatever, Goth girl."

"I'm not Goth! I just like wearing black and a lot of make-up!"

"That's all the proof I need." Nico mimicked Thalia's voice and Thalia glared at him.

"Death Breath." Thalia muttered.

"Pinecone Face." Was Nico's counter.

"What?" Thalia raised her eyebrows, confused.

"Don't you remember that day when a pinecone was thrown at you in the park and you screamed and fell to the ground?" Nico smirked.

Thalia's face burned. "Yes, I do. I thought I was alone! And I was five! Don't blame me for being hurt!"

"Thalia Grace? Hurt?!" Nico mocked. "Impossible!"

Thalia punched him.

"Ow!" Nico rubbed his arm. Then a smile grew on his face and he said, "I threw the pinecone."

That gave him another punch.

"What? We don't even know each other!" Thalia exclaimed.

"So? I was bored." Nico shrugged. "Besides, we sort of know each other. Our dads know each other."

"Yeah, well my dad is dead to me, so that doesn't really help out." Thalia muttered and looked out of the window again.

The man in the leather jacket suddenly shouted, "Okay! I want everyone to move to the front!"

Thalia looked up. Wait, they weren't even in Manhattan anymore! She was pretty sure no kids live outside of Manhattan and still go to Goode, even though Goode is on the edge of the city.

"Now!" The man shouted again when no one moved and Thalia stood up, going to a seat near the front. It was just her luck when Nico sat next to her.

"Thalia," Nico said in a low voice. "That man has a gun."

"What?" Thalia whispered frantically. Where they…no…they couldn't…

But the nerdy girl that sat in front of Thalia, Annabeth Chase, said to Percy Jackson, "It looks like we're being kidnapped."

Kidnapped? No, that couldn't happen. That only occurs in movies. But they were leaving Manhattan…a new bus driver…the guy had a gun…it looked like they _were_ being kidnapped.

Luke Castellan, the guy Thalia had a crush on (but don't tell anyone) raised his hand. "Sir, what's going on? And who are you?"

"I'm John Rampant, but call me Kronos and this is my friend, Pablo Cortez. And you want to know what's going on?" Kronos grinned evilly. "Pablo and I are about to get very rich."

Katie Gardner raised her hand, but was ignored.

"Okay, I want you to put all your electronic in this bag!" Kronos shouted. He walked down the isle holding a backpack and everyone threw in their cell phones, iPods, and iPhones.

"Hey man," Percy stood up. Thalia glared at him. Their fathers were very good friends (including Nico's father) and she knew Percy fairly well, but they were never close friends.

"This is a joke, right?" Percy asked, grinning.

"No, this isn't." Kronos glared. He pulled the pistol out of his jacket and pressed it against Annabeth's temple. Annabeth froze and all the color drained from her face. "I will shoot her if you don't sit down."

Percy took one look at Annabeth and immediately sat down.

"I'm going to list off your names and you must tell me that you are here." Kronos commanded. "Nico di Angelo." Nico raised his hand. "Perseus Blofis."

Percy spoke up and said, "Actually, I go by Percy Jackson."

Kronos glared. "I don't care. Next: Annabeth Chase. Luke Castellan. Kathryn Gardner. Thalia Grace. Travis Stoll. Connor Stoll. That's all."

For about twenty minutes they rode in the bus until the bus stopped abruptly.

"Everyone, get in the van!" Cortez shouted. "Boys in the front, girls in the back."

The students filed out of the bus and into one of those large vans that can fit probably ten people.

Thalia sat next to Katie and saw that she was silently crying.

"Hey," Thalia said softly, surprising herself. She wasn't usually sympathetic. "It'll be alright."

"I know, but they'll want money and my family can't afford that! My father owns a farm and my mother owns a florist shop. We barely have enough money to survive every month." Katie said quietly.

"I'm sure they'll manage." Thalia said. She never really thought about money. It was never a problem. Her mother was an actress (though she was drunk most of the time) and her father owned all of the airports in the U.S. and some in Europe.

"Guys, we need to escape." Annabeth whispered to them. "We need a battle strategy. Any ideas?" Thalia tried not to roll her eyes. The Blondie was already trying to find a way out. Then again, that was pretty smart…

"They have a gun." Katie said glumly. "In a fight, a gun always beats fists."

"There are only two of them, right?" Annabeth pointed out. "So we gang up on them, take the gun, hotwire the car, and leave."

Four hours later the van pulled into the driveway of a small cabin in the middle of a forest.

"I want you to get into the house now!" Cortez shouted and the teenagers quickly followed his command.

The cabin was pretty much what Thalia thought it would be. There was a coffee table, a couch, to the right was a hallway, and to the left was a kitchen.

"Girls sit on the couch, guys sit on the floor." Kronos said, pointing his gun at the teenagers.

Thalia sat down next to Annabeth.

"Pablo is going to call your parents and ask for the money." Kronos told them. "It might take them a while to get the money, so you might as well get comfortable." Kronos smiled, a smile that made chills run down Thalia's back. "You'll be here for a while."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this chapter isn't so long. I had a busy day...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

Annabeth's POV

The truth? Annabeth was terrified. She tried not to act like it. The Annabeth Chase everyone knew at school may be nerdy, but everyone knew that she was never scared. She laughs in the face of death. Or so she thought.

And then Annabeth as kidnapped and a whole new world of possibilities were opened to her. Should they escape or wait until the ransoms are paid off? Should she accept being scared or act brave?

Questions flooded her mind as she sat on the couch, waiting for the next demand of Kronos.

The demand did not come.

Instead, Kronos whipped out a cell phone and called someone. "Hello? Where are you? I need you here, Cortez has gone to make the calls and a few of these kids look strong and smart."

Kronos listened to the person on the other line for a minute and growled. "Don't you remember our deal? If you don't help me out, I always have a Plan B."

Kronos smiled as he listened to the person's reply. "Good. I'll see you in a minute. And don't forget your gun." He hung up.

"Okay." Kronos said in a powerful voice. "Since I have to keep you brats alive, that means I also have to feed you. It's time for dinner, so head into the kitchen."

Katie was the first to stand up, and the Stolls followed her into the kitchen. Annabeth stood up and Percy suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Annabeth," he whispered, keeping his voice down. Kronos was in the kitchen, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear.

"Yes?" Annabeth's voice was shaking.

Percy stood up, still holding Annabeth's hand. "Are you okay? You—you look horrible."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. That's exactly what every girl wants to hear."

For a moment everything was back to normal. Percy, being a Seaweed Brain and Annabeth, telling him that he's being a Seaweed Brain. But that moment ended.

Percy's face got a little red. "No, I, uh, I meant, it's just that, uh…"

"I know what you meant, Percy." Annabeth told him softly. "And I'm fine."

Percy nodded and his eyes trailed down until they saw his hand locked into Annabeth's. Percy cleared his throat and let go, his face bright red. Annabeth's face felt hot, and she knew she looked the same.

Percy walked into the kitchen, but it looked like he was trying not to run. Annabeth tried not to laugh. Percy was such a Seaweed Brain. Couldn't he tell that Annabeth liked him? Then again, even Annabeth didn't know until a few weeks ago when they were holding hands (for a class activity) and for the rest of the day Annabeth's heart was fluttering.

And why shouldn't it? Percy was cute, with his sea-green eyes and messy black hair and—_no_. Annabeth mentally scolded herself. They were _kidnapped _and she was daydreaming about a _boy_. She should be planning a strategy to get out. But who was Kronos talking to on the phone? Who was coming?

Annabeth walked into the kitchen and took a place next to Thalia. There was already food on the table: cold beans, old lettuce, and stale bread. There even wasn't any water.

Annabeth started eating. The kitchen was quiet except for the sound of chewing. The food tasted just as bad as it looked.

Annabeth examined Kronos as she tried to swallow the horrible food. Kronos wasn't scared or nervous. That part was obvious. He must've had experience in this type of thing. Usually kidnapping, murder, or even holding a gun knowing that you might have to shoot it can drive someone insane to the point of confessing.

But Kronos was calm, laid-back, and almost…happy? How was that possible? He's threatening the lives of nine people!

There was a knock at the door that caused Annabeth to pause mid bite. The knock was unique. Short, long, five quick knocks… and then a knock that sounded like a kick. Annabeth memorized it immediately (having a perfect memory helps).

Kronos smiled. "Ah, that must be him." He walked casually over to the door and opened it. "Good, you're here."

A giant African American man walked in. He was about 6' 5" and had muscles that would make any serial killer cry for their mother.

"Yeah, I'm here. What do you need?" The man said in a low, gruff voice.

"I already told you over the phone." Kronos said. He pointed to the teenagers. "These are our captives: Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Katie Gardner, Luke Castellan, Travis Stoll, and Connor Stoll."

Kronos smiled, making Annabeth shudder. "Captives, meet Charles Beckendorf.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

Percy's POV

Percy knew that he had heard that name before. He concentrated and remembered in his freshman year when he took metal shop. On the wall was a picture of a guy who looked like he was sixteen. Underneath the picture was the name _Charles Beckendorf._ The metal shop teacher always talked about Charles Beckendorf and how he could make anything out of metal.

"So, Charles, you ready for this?" Kronos asked, an evil glint in his dark eyes.

"I told you, I go by Beckendorf." Beckendorf said. He had a pained sound to his voice, but was trying to mask it.

"Would you like it if I called you _Charlie?_" Kronos smirked.

Beckendorf immediately swung his hand out and punched Kronos on the jaw.

"Beckendorf!" Kronos shouted. He held his jaw for a moment, and then spit blood onto the floor. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Percy studied Beckendorf. There was a bead of sweat on his forehead and an aura of anxiety that filled the room when he entered. Percy may have not been as smart as Annabeth, but he knew that Beckendorf was worried.

"Sorry." Beckendorf muttered. "What do you want me to do?"

"Watch the captives while I go to town for a drink." Kronos commanded. "Cortez is going to be back tomorrow, and I'm not sure when I'll be back."

Kronos grabbed his jacket and opened the door, letting a cold breeze of winter air into the room. "Oh, and don't try any tricks. I'm monitoring you, you know." With that, he left.

Beckendorf walked into the kitchen warily, inspecting each of the kidnapped students. "You kids okay?"

"Aren't you the guy from the metal class?" Travis asked, and then immediately looked like he regretted it.

Beckendorf chuckled. "Yes, I am. Old Pete is still talking about me?"

"Well, you're practically a legend." Connor shrugged.

"Yeah…" Beckendorf looked a little embarrassed. He looked exactly like he did in the picture, but only slightly older. Percy guessed that he was probably in his earlier twenties.

It was silent for a while, so Percy started eating his food again. It was horrible, but Percy was starving.

"You're actually eating that stuff?" Beckendorf stared as Percy took another bite.

"I'm a teenage boy and I'm hungry." Percy shrugged and swallowed his food.

"Do you guys want some real food?" Beckendorf asked, walking into the pantry. "We've got…nothing."

"Why are you doing this?" Thalia asked.

"Why am _I_ or why is _Kronos?_"

"You're not doing it for the money?" Annabeth sounded confused, which was a first.

Beckendorf sighed. "It feels like I'm having a therapy session with a bunch of teenagers. But yeah, I'm not doing this for the money."

"So you're doing this to hurt innocent people?" Katie exclaimed, looking furious.

Beckendorf looked hurt. "Of course not! I'm doing it because…" Beckendorf stopped. "I can't tell you. It was part of the deal. Let's just say that I knew Kronos in high school. He found me a month ago and…we compromised."

Percy finished his dinner and sat in the uncomfortable chair. Everyone else was done eating or looked like they didn't want to eat.

"Do you have any books?" Annabeth asked. Percy tried not to smile. They were being kidnapped and Annabeth still wanted to read.

"Maybe. I'll go find them." Beckendorf told her, and walked down a hall to a closet.

"Guys, I don't think he wants to be here." Thalia whispered.

"Yeah. You can tell how nervous he is." Connor agreed.

Percy was about to say something, but Beckendorf came back holding a stack of books. "There's a few good ones here…you can see if there's any you like."  
Beckendorf set the books on the table and Annabeth immediately started looking through them. "Oh! I like this one!" She grabbed the book and headed to the couch.

"You guys can do whatever you want, except escape." Beckendorf told the teenagers. He sat down in an empty chair and grabbed a book.

Percy had no idea what to do. What do you do when you're being held captive?

So he walked over to Annabeth and sat down next to her. "What're you reading?"

"_Pride and Prejudice_." Annabeth replied, keeping her eyes on the page.

"Isn't that the really long and boring book?" Percy asked, making a face.

"No, it's a good book." Annabeth corrected.

"You're going to keep reading, aren't you?" Percy sighed.

"Yep."

"Annabeth, you're probably the smartest person in the house. You need to think of a way for us to escape! You know my mom and stepdad can't pay for the ransom!"

"Percy, you're dad probably will."

"Probably?"

It was Annabeth's turn to sigh. "Percy, what I'm saying is it doesn't matter if your mom and stepdad get some money or if your dad comes through, but they'll get you back. They love you."

"Sure doesn't feel like it." Percy murmured.

"You're the lucky one. My dad and Helen probably don't even care that I'm gone."

Percy didn't know what to say. It was hard to tell Annabeth she was wrong. First of all, she was never wrong. Second of all, Helen didn't really care much about Annabeth. Annabeth's father did, but he never really showed it.

"Now if you excuse me, I'd like to read my book." Annabeth's voice was strained.

Percy stood up, and walked over to the others. They were all in a group, talking hushed whispers.

Thalia was the first to acknowledge Percy. "Perseus." She nodded at Percy.

"Don't call me that!" Percy said on an impulse. He brought back tons of memories of when their fathers were close friends and their families did a lot together.

"What're we doing?" Percy asked.

"We're planning an escape." Nico replied.

"Travis and I can steal the keys to the car, but we don't' know how to escape." Connor explained.

"Do you think Blondie can come up with an idea?" Thalia asked Percy.

"Probably, but she's occupied right now." Percy said, remembering the awkward conversation.

Suddenly a gruff voice behind them said, "Planning to escape?"

The teenagers jumped and turned around in unison.

Beckendorf grunted. "I would be doing the same thing."

"Beckendorf, what do you know about Kronos?" Katie asked quietly.

"He's smart, strong, cunning, but he has one flaw that is obvious to see. He gets drunk every day." Beckendorf told them. "I can't tell you anymore. Like I said, he's watching us. I've got to go get something. Don't try anything." Beckendorf warned them and left.

"Percy, do you want to get Annabeth and maybe we can start planning?" Thalia asked right after Beckendorf left.

"I guess, but she might be moody." Percy told her wearily.

"You don't need to get me, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth interrupted the conversation, sitting down next to Percy. "We need an escape plan, and we need one soon."


	5. Chapter 5

The first phone call rang at exactly 6:00 pm. Paul Blofis was grading papers and had to get them finished, so he called to his wife. "Sally! Could you get the phone?"

Sally walked in from making dinner and said, "Yes, sorry, I was lost in thought." She grabbed the phone and turned it on. "Hello?"

"Is this Sally Blofis?" A heavily accented voice answered.

"Yes, this is she." Sally replied. "Who are you?"

"I could be a friend or an enemy, but it's your choice to choose."

"What are you talking about?" Sally started to get nervous.

"I'm calling about your son, Percy Jackson."

Sally tensed. Percy hasn't been home since he left for school that morning. Sally had assumed that Percy was at Annabeth's house, like he sometimes did. But usually Percy called if he went to Annabeth's house right after school.

"Yes, what about him?" Sally's voice was shaking.

"I want for your son to get back home safely."

"Safely? From where?" Sally asked urgently.

"From a place a long way from Manhattan."

"What did you do with him?" Sally cried. "Did you take Annabeth too? They always drive home together!"

"If you want to see your son again, I'm afraid there will have to be a price."

"Anything!" Sally begged. "Just make sure Percy gets home safely!"

"Twenty thousand dollars." The voice told her.

"Twenty thousand dollars!" Sally exclaimed. "We don't have that kind of money!"

"If you want to see your son again, you'll come up with the money. And don't think about calling the police. If you do that, then your son is dead. I'll call again in a few days." With that, he hung up.

"Sally, who was that?" Paul asked as his wife sat down shakily.

"Someone called about Percy." Sally muttered.

"What about Percy?" Paul's guard immediately up.

"They said he was taken." Sally told him. "And that the only way to get him back is to give someone twenty thousand dollars!"

Paul's face turned grave. "He's been kidnapped?"

"I guess so." Sally said, tears coming into her eyes.

"Twenty thousand dollars?" Helen exclaimed after her husband, Fredrick Chase, told her about the phone call.

"If we want to get Annabeth back." Fredrick said. "Do you think this is real? Do you think that they really have her?"

"Well, where else would she be?" Helen shrugged. "I'm sorry, dear."

"Where will we get the money?" Fredrick asked her.

"We'll manage." Helen told her husband reassuringly.

At the Grace residence, the phone rang at exactly 6:30. Jason Grace had just barely gotten home to do a project for school with his girlfriend, Piper McLean.

"I'm going to grab the phone real quick." Jason told Piper and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Susan Grace?" **(A/N: that's their mom.)** A voice said into the phone.

"Uh, no. She's not here right now. I'm her son. Can I take a message?" Jason asked.

"Yes, you can. Your sister is missing."

"Thalia?" Jason exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"The only way to get her back safely is if you pay a fee." The voice ignored Jason's question.

"What sort of fee?" Jason questioned, beginning to realize what had happened.

"Twenty thousand dollars. I'll call back in a few days." The man hung up.

Jason walked back to Piper. "Pipes, Thalia has been kidnapped!"

When the phone rang at the di Angelo residence, no one answered. No one was home. Hades di Angelo was out at his beach house like usual. Or maybe it was his house in Europe. But either way, he was never home.

The phone rang several times, but no one was ever there to answer it.

"Sweetie, can you get the phone?" Daisy Gardner called to his wife. "I've got to finish putting these flowers together."

John Gardner answered the phone and got surprising news. A minute later he walked to his wife.

"Daisy, Katie has been kidnapped and we have to pay twenty thousand dollars to get her back!" John exclaimed.

"What?" Daisy cried. "That can't happen! We can't afford that!"

The phone rang again. This time Daisy answered it and spoke furiously into the phone. "Listen; if you have my Katie then I will track you down and call the police!"

"You got the phone call too?" A female voice said. Daisy was surprised. She thought it would've been a man who did this. Then she recognized the voice.

"Oh, Mary!" Daisy cried. "Did the same thing happen to Travis and Connor?"

"Yes!" Mary said, and they started talking (and crying) together.

When May Castellan heard the phone ring, she rushed to get it. But first she had to turn the lights on and off ten times and tap the kitchen counter sixty-seven times before she could answer the phone. **(A/N: I didn't really know how to make May like she was in the book, so I made her really OCD and she has to do things like tapping something eighty times or else she thinks that something bad will happen.) **

"Yes?" May asked as she answered the phone.

"Is this May Castellan, mother of Luke Castellan?"

"Yes, this is she. What happened?"

"I'm afraid that your son is gone. If you would like to get him back, you must pay twenty thousand dollars." The man replied, getting straight to the point.

"What? My Luke-y is gone?" May exclaimed, her voice cracking. "I'll get the money! I'll find it! Hermes will help, he'll have to!" Soon she was rambling until she heard the man sigh.

"So you'll get the money?"

"Of course!" May exclaimed. "I'll get it!"

"I'll call you back in a few days. Don't get the police, or your son is dead." He hung up.

May started dialing her husband, Hermes. He hasn't called them in a few years, but she knows that he'll answer. Luke was their son, after all. He has to answer. But even after her fifth attempt that day of trying to get a hold of Hermes, May kept dialing, not knowing that she'll never get him to answer.

** Okay, yeah, I know that this is sort of a boring chapter, but I have to include all the ransom calls and stuff like that. So…yeah. Read and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

Thalia's POV

"What are we going to do?" Thalia asked after Annabeth sat down in the group.

"We have to get that gun." Annabeth said quietly. "Like Katie said earlier, in a fight with a gun and fist, the gun wins."

"So how do we get it? And Beckendorf has one too." Connor pointed out.

"I'm not sure Beckendorf will shoot." Annabeth said hesitantly. "He seems…forced to do this."

"How can you tell?" Nico sounded bewildered. "He looks like he's ready to kill us!"

"I've heard that's what Beckendorf always looks like." Percy mentioned. "All the teachers say that he was very intimidating, but was still nice."

"Luke, do you know anything about Beckendorf? He was on the football team and you're on it now. You might've heard some things about him. And maybe Kronos." Annabeth asked Luke.

Luke looked up and Thalia realized that he hasn't spoken for a long time. He opened his mouth to say something, but then looked like he would regret it. "I-I don't know what to do."

"That's why we're helping." Katie said gently. "None of us would know what to do."

"But…" Luke paused.

"Luke, do you know anything about Kronos or Beckendorf?" Annabeth repeated.

"Yeah." Luke nodded. "Sorry, I was distracted. But all I know is that Kronos was the quarterback on the football team and he got his name because he was ruthless. Beckendorf was a football player too, but I can't remember what his position was."

"So they must both be strong." Annabeth noted.

"Enough of this, we need an actual plan." Travis exclaimed.

The front door swung open and slammed against the wall, making the teenagers jump and turn around. Kronos was walking into the house, swaying a little. Thalia could immediately tell he was drunk. She has been around her mother enough to know what a drunken person looks like.

"Beckendorf!" Kronos called. "Get in here!"

Beckendorf walked out of back room quickly. "Sorry, I was-"

"Giving those brats a chance to escape?" Kronos yelled. "You're a lazy (insert cuss word of choice here) idiot!"

Beckendorf flinched. "I'm sorry, just don't-"

Kronos smirked. "Aw, are you worried about poor, weak, little-"

Beckendorf interrupted him. "I told you I was sorry. I was just about to make them go to their rooms." Under his breath Thalia heard him mutter, "Torture chambers."

"Good. And use the gun. It helps." Kronos smiled smugly at the teenagers.

Beckendorf looked hesitant, but pulled a gun off of his belt. He held it limply in his hand and pointed it at the teenagers. "Go down the stairs."

Katie was the first to stand up and follow Beckendorf's order. The Stolls followed her, followed by Annabeth, Percy, Nico, Luke, and Thalia.

Beckendorf led them to a room that had a few bunk beds. "Girls in here."

Thalia, Annabeth, and Katie walked into the room and the second they were in there the door was closed and locked.

Thalia looked around for a light switch, but there wasn't one. There wasn't a window. The only light came from a small nightlight in the corner. The air was cold and had an eerie feeling to it.

"Are we s-supposed to s-sleep in here?" Katie asked, rubbing her arms. "It's f-freezing!"

"I think so." Annabeth nodded. She grabbed a blanket off of one of the beds and wrapped it around herself. "If we can make the night, that is."

"We better." Thalia muttered, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around herself. "I'm not going to die."

"You can't really choose whether to die or not." Annabeth crossed her arms.

"Maybe I can." Thalia snapped back.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, but stayed silent.

"Did you guys notice how quiet Luke was today? I thought he was going to be the one taking charge." Katie said.

Thalia's face felt a little hot, despite the frigid air. She always blushed whenever Luke was mentioned. "He was?"

"Yeah. And I never thought he would be quiet, since he's a jock and all." Annabeth nodded.

"What does that mean?" Thalia demanded, getting defensive. "Just because he's a _jock_ it means that he has to talk all the time?"

"It doesn't mean he has to, he just does." Annabeth said, getting a little angry herself. "And why should you care? You barely know him!"

"I don't have to know him to know that he's a nice guy!" Thalia protested.

In the dark, Thalia heard Annabeth snort.

"Oh, so you think he's not nice?" Thalia glared at Annabeth.

"Well, he's been a jerk to everyone I know."

"Who, Percy? The idiot who is so easy to make fun of?"

"Hey!" Annabeth snapped. "Percy might not be the brightest person, but he's still my best friend and I won't let you insult him."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "He's not even close to the brightest person. And you don't know how much of a rude, selfish, self-centered person Percy is!"

Annabeth laughed. "Percy? Selfish, rude, and self-centered? You have got to be kidding me! You're jealous that Percy has a loving mother and a nice stepfather and family."

Thalia marched up to Annabeth. "I am _not_ jealous! You're such a-"

Before Thalia could continue, Katie said, "Guys, stop fighting! This is just the stress talking!"

Annabeth and Thalia both stopped talking.

"We're under a lot of pressure." Katie continued quietly. "Pressure does this to people. I just never thought you two would be the first to crack."

The three were quiet for a while, until Annabeth mumbled, "I'm sorry. I just got mad. Percy is my best friend and I don't like people insulting him, even thought he _is_ stupid."

"I'm sorry too." Thalia muttered. "I don't know why I got mad at Percy. We just have a complicated past, with my dad and his dad fighting…and I don't know why I got defensive of Luke."

"Maybe it's because you _like _him." Katie grinned mischievously.

Thalia glared at Katie. "Why don't we go to bed? We're going to have a long day tomorrow, if we come up with a plan."

"Thalia's right." Annabeth agreed. "We should get some sleep.

The girls climbed into their beds and Thalia fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow, not realizing how tired she had been.

Thalia's dream was nice. It was a sort of fantasy dream. Her mother was never an alcoholic, her father never abandoned their family, and her parents actually liked Thalia.

They were having a picnic and Thalia was reminding Jason of the time he tried to eat a stapler when he was two and got a scar. Jason glared at Thalia for bringing up the memory, and then, as Thalia reached in the picnic basket, there was a loud, earsplitting banging noise that echoed in Thalia's ears. What was that?  
Thalia opened her eyes and it took her a moment to comprehend what had happened the day before. And then she realized that the noise was still echoing in her ears.

Thalia sat up and saw Katie and Annabeth already sitting up.

"Did you hear that?" Katie whispered.

"That loud noise?" Thalia nodded. "Yeah, I did. I thought it was part of my dream."

"What was it?" Katie asked.

"I think—actually, I know…" Even in the dim light of the nightlight, Thalia could see how pale Annabeth's face was. "It was a gunshot."


	7. Chapter 7

** Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had this stupid science experiment for class and I have to plant a seed and see how fast it grows. The problem is that here in Utah we haven't seen the sun since November…yeah, I really hate Utah weather. Two years ago, we had snow in July (and that's pretty strange considering how hot it was) and last year we had no water because there was no snow! Okay, I'm rambling. That's what I do. Eh, well, no one really reads the author note. Enjoy the next chapter!**

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth got out of bed quickly and ran to the door, trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"A gunshot?!" Katie shrieked. "What if one of the guys got shot?"

That made Annabeth pound on the door harder. If Percy had a Seaweed Brain moment, then he probably would've gotten shot.

"What happened?" Annabeth's voice cried against her will. "That was a gun!"

The house was silent and the girls stopped trying to get out.

"Maybe…it was just a lamp falling or something." Katie said after a while.

Annabeth opened her mouth but another gunshot sounded. "That wasn't a lamp!"

Annabeth ran to the door and before she could try to unlock the door, it swung open.

"Was it you?" Beckendorf asked, his eyes full of fury. "Did _you_ get Kronos mad?"

"No, it just woke us up!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Who got shot?"

"I don't know. I just woke up." Beckendorf said and his eyes trailed down the hall. He squinted in the dark. "Wait a second…" He ran down the hall and opened the door. "It was unlocked!"

"The guys escaped?" Annabeth muttered. "_Without_ us?" Percy wouldn't do that. He's…_Percy._ He wouldn't do that.

"Get up!" Beckendorf yelled into the room. "Get into the hall!"

Four figures stumbled out of the door and said that the same time, "Yes, sir?"

Beckendorf turned on the hallway light and he was glaring at all of the teenagers. Annabeth noticed something as she examined the room. Something was wrong. But what?

Beckendorf scowled. "First off, don't call me _sir._ I hate that. Second…" He trailed off, examining the boys. His face looked like he realized something horrible. "There are only four of you. There were five of you when you walked into this room! Who's missing?"

Behind her, Annabeth heard Thalia mutter, "Luke. Where is he?"

"Oh, crap." Beckendorf muttered. "Where is the fifth one?!" His voice was rising to a shout.

"Luke has always been good at picking locks. Even from the inside." Connor said, looking at the ground. "I sort of taught him…"  
Beckendorf turned the stairs and started walking towards them quickly. Before he went up the stairs he turned back around and said, "No one follow me."

The hall was quiet when Beckendorf left. The only sound was muffled shouting coming from the floor above them. Annabeth looked over at her best friend and his face was ashen.

Another gunshot.

"That's it." Percy muttered and started going to the stairs.

"Percy!" Annabeth called and caught up with him. "You can't go up there!"

Percy grimaced. "I have to! Luke could be getting hurt. Don't you care?"

"Of course I care, but I care more about you." Annabeth said, holding tightly onto Percy's wrist. "You're not going up there…at least, not without me."

"Fine. Come on." Percy turned back to the stairs and they started walking up quietly. Halfway up the staircase the shouting became clear to Annabeth.

"You think that you can just disobey my rules? Be glad that I haven't killed you yet!" The voice belonged to Kronos.

"Please, just let me explain!" Luke sounded desperate.

Annabeth and Percy made it to the top of the stairs and looked at what was going on, but they stayed hidden.

Luke was behind the couch and looked desperate. Kronos was in the kitchen. In one hand he was waving his gun around and in the other was a bottle of beer. Beckendorf was trying to calm down Kronos, but it wasn't working. He seemed even more drunk than before.

"Listen, Kronos, let the kid explain." Beckendorf told Kronos. "He probably has a good reason."

Kronos glared at Beckendorf and set his beer on the kitchen table. "Oh, really? Well I'm not going to give the kid a chance to explain. Instead, I'm going to show him how good I am at aiming."

Kronos put both hands on the gun and aimed it at Luke's chest.

"Wait!" Luke shouted. "Wait! If you let me explain I…I'll tell you what they're planning."

Kronos lowered his gun a little. "What're you talkin' about?"

"Lower the gun." Luke said slowly. "And I'll tell you the plan."

"No." Annabeth muttered. "He's betraying us?"

Kronos's head jerked up. "I heard something."

Percy and Annabeth made eye contact and agreed on something. Together, they walked quietly back down the stairs.

Halfway down the stairs Annabeth heard Kronos say, "Alright, Castellan. Go into the back room and prepare to tell me _everything._ And when I say everything, I mean _every single word that those kids have uttered since they set foot in here._ You hear me?"

"Y-yes sir." Luke stammered and Annabeth heard him walking quickly and his footsteps faded.

The two got downstairs and Percy said, "Everyone go into our room." His voice was strained and angry.

The teenagers quickly walked into the guys' room and Travis asked, "What happened?"

"Luke betrayed us." Percy snapped. "He's telling Kronos the plan!"

"The plan to escape?" Katie whispered.

Percy nodded. "Right now, as we speak."

"I think that Luke is hoping to get out of being in danger if he acts like he's helping Kronos." Annabeth added.

"Why didn't we see it coming?" Nico exclaimed. "He's so selfish!"

Annabeth noticed that while everyone was talking, Thalia remained quiet. Annabeth sympathized for her. Thalia must've really liked Luke. But Annabeth felt the same way as Thalia. She had a little crush on Luke too, but after he decided to Benedict Arnold, Annabeth's feelings for Luke disappeared. She couldn't like a guy that would save his life before anyone else's.

"Guys, what do we do now?" Travis muttered. "Luke is telling the guy that's holding us captive our escape plan. Do we make a new one or just wait for the ransom to be paid off?"

"My parents couldn't do that." Katie shook her head. "We barely have any money."

Beckendorf walked into the room. "Really? An escape plan? How stupid could you be?"

Annabeth glared at Beckendorf. Did he just call her _stupid?_

"You could've gotten her killed!" Beckendorf shouted. "I'm supposed to be supervising you!"

Annabeth got caught off guard. "Wait…_her?_ Who's that?"

Beckendorf was quiet for a minute and finally said, "Did I say that?"

"Yeah. You did." Annabeth crossed her arms. "Who were you talking about?"

Beckendorf sighed and turned on the main room light. "Alright. I guess I owe you an explanation."

"You think?" Thalia muttered. Annabeth elbowed Thalia and gave her a look that said, _don't push it. He has a gun._

"Like I said before, Kronos and I went to high school together. We were on the football team and good friends, but not really close. After we graduated, we never kept contact with each other. A month ago, Kronos called me up again and said we should get together."

Annabeth shared a confused look with Percy. Where was this leading to?  
"Then," Beckendorf continued. "After a few weeks Kronos told me about this idea. He said that Cortez was already in it together, but they needed muscle. I immediately that I shouldn't do it and said no. Kronos just nodded and said he understood and left."

"Then why are you here?" Thalia asked.

"That's what the next part is about." Beckendorf told her. "When I went home that night, my wife, Silena, wasn't there. I found a note from Kronos, saying that Cortez had her in his basement and if I didn't go through with the plan Cortez would kill Silena. So here I am." Beckendorf shrugged. "You do crazy things for love."

"That's so sweet." Katie whispered.

"And Luke told Kronos our escape plan, so Kronos might kill your wife." Annabeth summed up. "Sorry, Beckendorf, we didn't know."

"Yeah, whatever." Beckendorf waved his hand. "If I were you, I'd do the same thing. But even if you do escape, I'm still going to jail, so I don't care if you break out or not."

"You wouldn't go to jail." Percy pointed out. "Someone's life is in your hands. You _might_ get a small charge, but I highly doubt it unless you kill one of us."

"Yeah, well…" Beckendorf was interrupted by Luke walking into the room.

"What's going on?" Luke asked.

Everyone glared at him as he played innocent.

"Luke," Percy stood up. "You told Kronos the plan that we were working on! I thought we were a team!"

"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about." Luke said nervously, which was a dead give away.

Percy punched Luke in the jaw before anyone could react.

"Hey!" Luke exclaimed, holding his jaw. He swung a punch at Percy, but Beckendorf held Luke's arm.

"No fighting." Beckendorf said, his tone deadly. "That's the last thing we need."

"I'm not done with you." Percy glared at Luke. "Traitor."

"Okay, why don't you guys get some sleep?" Beckendorf suggested. "Tomorrow is going to be tough, since Kronos knows that you've been planning to escape."

Without letting the teenagers say another word, Beckendorf pushed the girls out of the door into their room. "I'm going to watch the boys. I have a feeling Luke is going to need a lot of help to make it through the night." He closed the door and Annabeth heard the door lock.

**Hoped you liked that chapter. Read and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

** Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I had a long week and our laptop and computer are both locked and I don't know the password. Also, someone said that they read the book that I sort of got the idea off of, and I just want to say this: oh, my gods! I love that book soooo much! It's so good! For anyone who is interested, it's called Ransom and it's by Lois Duncan. Yeah, I kept the same name for my fanfic, but it just fit this idea so ****_perfectly! _****Well, here's the next chapter! **

Percy's POV

Luke was lucky that he made it through the night. Percy couldn't believe what that traitor did. Yeah, maybe Percy was overreacting, but he didn't like people that betrayed his friends, especially Annabeth. Percy knew Annabeth had a crush on Luke (she had told him before) and he guessed that she was probably hurt.

But, secretly, Percy was glad that Luke did that. Annabeth might've lost her feelings for Luke and start to like Percy…oh, who was he kidding? That was just a stupid dream. And there were others that Percy needed to help. He couldn't be selfish when they were in a horrible situation.

The night passed quickly and Percy didn't wake up once (he had always been a heavy sleeper).

A harsh voice woke Percy up. "Get up! You are going to have a _lot_ of explaining to do!"

Percy opened his eyes and rubbed them. It took him a second to realize where he was and what had happened the day before.

Kronos was standing in the doorway and he was glaring at all of the boys. "Go upstairs, _now_." He looked furious, but also had a smug look in his eyes. He glared one last time and turned, walking away.

Percy quickly sat up, hitting his head on the bunk bed above his. He grimaced and rolled out of bed, hitting the ground.

"Get up, Perce." Nico mumbled, slipping off of the bunk above Percy's.

Percy groaned and just lay on the ground. "I don't want to!"

"Percy, you sound like a three-year-old." Travis chuckled.

"I don't care."

"Come on, you can help us beat the crap out of Luke." Connor offered.

Percy opened an eye. "Is Luke already up there?"

"Yep. He's talking with his new best friend." Travis replied, making a face.

Percy rolled to his side and stood up. "Let's go. Are the girls already up there?"

"I think so." Nico answered.

The boys started walking out the door and Percy followed them. He was still half-asleep and ran into the wall.

"Percy," Nico chided and smirked as Percy glared at him.

"Hey, I'm still waking up." Percy defended himself and trudged up the stairs.

He walked slowly into the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth greeted Percy. "Slept well?"

"Sure," Percy said sarcastically. "I slept so well since we're kidnapped!"

Annabeth was about to reply (and it would've been very witty, knowing Annabeth) when Kronos walked in.

"So, a little birdie told me that you were planning to escape." Kronos announced, crossing his arms and glaring at the teenagers.

They were all quiet but glaring at Luke, who was staring at his lap.

"You just cause yourself a _ton_ of trouble!" Kronos shouted. "One of you is going to pay. Who planned this whole thing?"

Percy's eyes met with Annabeth's. Everyone knew that Annabeth was the mastermind behind the whole plan, since she was the smartest out of all of them.

Annabeth's eyes practically said: _I have to._

Percy shook his head, but Kronos noticed. "So it was you, Jackson?"  
Percy opened his mouth and then closed it. He wasn't going to say _it wasn't me, it was Annabeth!_ But he would never say that.

"It wasn't Percy!" Of all people, Travis stood up.

"And then who was it?" Kronos turned to Travis. "You?"

Travis glanced back at…Katie? His face was full of regret, but he said, "Yeah. Me."

Kronos glared at Travis. "So it was _you._ Well, I guess that means you're going to have to pay. I'm not sure if I should use a gun or a knife…your choice."

Travis's face instantly went white. "B-but it's not like we actually _did_ escape. Maybe just…a warning?"

Kronos's eyes got even darker. "What did you just say?"

Travis made a squeaking sound and when he spoke, his voice was strangely shrill. "I'd prefer maybe just a warning?"

"Kid, you're going to get it." Kronos growled and grabbed Travis by the neck. "Do you really think this is a joke?"

Travis made a choking sound and managed to say, "Of c-course n-not."

Kronos let go of Travis's neck after a minute and Travis doubled over, gasping for breath. Kronos kicked Travis in the side and Travis gasped in pain.

Percy looked away, not being able to see his friend getting hurt. He wanted to help, but he knew that Kronos would just beat both Percy and Travis harder, making it worse.

"All of you aren't going to have breakfast. Stoll, go into the back room. You're going to stay there for a couple days without any food." Kronos smirked at Travis and pushed him over.

Travis fell to his knees but stood up, still panting heavily from being almost strangled. He stumbled down the hall to the room in the back.

"Beckendorf is going to watch you while I teach your friend a lesson." Kronos had a smug glint in his eyes and he grabbed his gun (to Percy's horror) and walked down the hall.

The minute the door closed Katie started sobbing. All the others just stared at the closed door in shock.

It was like everyone was paralyzed and couldn't shift their eyes to look anywhere else but the door. Then they heard a muffled cry of pain and Katie looked like she was going to puke. She stood up and rushed down the stairs.

Beckendorf stood up from the living room couch and said sadly to the teenagers, "I think its best that we all go downstairs."

A few minutes later they were all sitting in the boys' room in the cold basement.

"I can't believe Travis took the blame for me." Annabeth muttered. "It should've been me!"

"No, it should've been the person who betrayed us." Percy corrected Annabeth (which was something that he didn't get to say often). He glared at Luke, who has been quiet since Travis took the blame.

"Y-you don't understand." Luke murmured. "You wouldn't get it."

"What, that you only think about yourself?" Percy gritted his teeth, reminding himself not to get mad, but it was hard.

"I wasn't thinking about myself!" Luke shouted. Then something strange happened: Luke looked like he was listening to someone and then said, "I told you I shouldn't have gone!"

Everyone stared at Luke.

"You didn't tell anyone that you were going." Annabeth said slowly.

"I…I…" Luke trailed off. Then he glared at something out of the corner of his eye and snapped, "Shut up!"

Everyone slowly backed away from Luke. Percy was confused and turned to Annabeth for answers. But she just shook her head, looking as puzzled as Percy.

They remained quiet, not wanting to talk about anything. After about an hour, Kronos came downstairs and into the room.

"Beckendorf, watch the captives." Kronos instructed. He smirked at the kids as he continued, "I need to buy some more bullets. I sort of ran out."

A horrible thought occurred to Percy and he hadn't wanted to kill anyone as much as he wanted to kill Luke.

** Gasp! Did you think that of all people ****_Travis_**** was the one who would take the blame? I'm guessing that you all thought it would be Percy! Well, I have some other ideas for Percy later in the story…but of course I can't tell you! Well, I hoped you like this chapter. Read and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

** Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated for a while. My cousins came to town and they just left yesterday, so…yeah. Also, someone said that it would've been better if Percy was the one who took the blame, but trust me. Travis being the one taking the blame is going to play an important part in this story. Every move that the characters make changes the story. It's called the Butterfly Affect (I learned about it in this weird and nerdy class…but whatever!). **

** Oh, and someone said that Luke might have multiple personalities. He doesn't. Multiple personalities disorder is when someone completely changes into someone else's personality. Luke didn't do that. A good example of that is in ****_Psycho_**** or in one of the episodes of ****_Psych._**** That's actually pretty close, but I'm not telling anyone about the ending. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

Thalia's POV

The next two days passed by agonizingly slow. There was no sign of Travis, but that wasn't what was on Thalia's mind. She felt guilty that she wasn't worrying like all of the others, but she had other problems to deal with.

Did Luke really tell Kronos about their plan? She thought that he was on her side! Instead he betrays them and won't even tell why he did it. Was he trying to convince Kronos that he would help the kidnappers?

"Hey," a soft voice said next to Thalia. She turned her head and saw Katie.

"Oh, hi." Thalia sighed. "You okay?"

Katie's eyes were puffy and red from crying, but she managed to say, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Katie, it's pretty obvious that you're crying because of what happened to Travis."

Katie's lower lip trembled when Thalia said Travis's name.

"I know!" Katie cried and tears began to tumble down her cheeks. "Why did it have to be Travis?"

Katie continued to sob in Thalia's shoulder as Thalia awkwardly looked around the room, unsure what to do. She wasn't the sympathetic one…usually.

Nico burst into the room and sat down next to Thalia. "Okay, I think I'm going to loose my mind."  
"What's wrong?" Thalia asked, still comforting Katie.

"Connor is out of his mind with worry, Luke has been glaring at the same corner for two days, and Percy keeps mumbling that it should've been him and it was his fault." Nico said quickly in one breath. "I can't try to talk to them."

"That's it. We've all tried." Annabeth sighed, coming into the conversation. "I think that Connor will stop worrying when Travis gets back," Katie's sobbing got harder, "and Percy will stop blaming himself, too. And Luke better get ready to come up with a good explanation to why he betrayed us."

Thalia stiffened when Annabeth mentioned that. She still couldn't believe what Luke did.

"Dinner!" Kronos's gruff voice shouted down the stairs.

Everyone jumped and looked surprised. They hadn't had dinner for two days. They have only had lunch, and it wasn't much.

Thalia stood up, her legs shaking, weak from lack of food. She followed everyone out of the room and up the stairs.

They haven't been allowed out of the basement for two days and when Thalia got there, the windows were open and fresh air was pouring in the room. Thalia took one sniff of the sweet, fresh air and she nearly collapsed. Freedom was _so close,_ yet _so far away._

Kronos was glaring at all of the teenagers as they sat down at the table. "I hope you all learned your lesson. Your friend certainly did." Kronos averted his eyes to behind the teenagers and waved his hand.

Thalia heard footsteps and turned around. Beckendorf was escorting a horrible looking Travis out of the back room. Travis was limping and had a black eye, cuts all over his arms, and too many bruises that Thalia couldn't count them. Thalia looked away, not wanting to see her friend looking like that.

Travis collapsed into a chair but didn't say anything.

Kronos smirked at Travis and then said, "I'm heading to town. Beckendorf, keep an eye on the captives." Without hearing what Beckendorf had to say, he grabbed his car keys and left.

"Travis, what happened?" Percy whispered in horror.

Travis just shook his head. "I was just beat up. Luckily he didn't shoot me."

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Good." Connor nodded.

"Hey, I'm just glad it was me and not anyone else." Travis told everyone.

"Travis? Were you just…selfless?" Connor exclaimed. "Are you sure he didn't hit you in the head?"

Travis glared at Connor and looked like he wanted to punch his brother, but didn't have the strength. "I've been thinking. We all have to stick together and that means sacrifice."

Everyone continued to stare at Travis as if he was an alien from outer space.

"Did Travis Stoll just say something…intelligent?" Thalia whispered, half joking, half serious.

"That's like Percy saying something…not as stupid as usual!" Annabeth added, receiving a glare from Percy.

"Whatever. I just want some food." Travis looked at the kitchen hungrily.

Beckendorf walked into the kitchen. "Sorry, but there's only the same crap as there was before."

"Yeah, but that crap will probably taste like a steak dinner for me." Travis shrugged. "Hand me a plate."

For the next ten minutes everyone ate, since they have had barely any food for forty-eight hours.

"Kronos told me that after you eat you had to go to the basement, so…go to the basement, I guess." Beckendorf told the teenagers.

They all stumbled down into the basements and as Thalia walked down, she noticed the look of guilt on Luke's face. She felt a spark of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Luke could gain back their trust. But as she watched Luke mutter something to himself and glare at nothing, the spark of hope started to fade.

** Yeah, not my best ending. But whatever. I'm out of creativeness tonight. Read and review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long! I've had a busy and crazy few weeks! Also, to Mrs. Leo Valdez (I think that's your name), Leo won't be in Ransom. But I'm thinking about doing a sequel and he'll definitely be in that. It would just be too hard to put a new character out of the blue into the story right now. I'm not going to do any HOO characters in this story except Jason, some Piper, and I just mentioned Drew. In the sequel I'm going to include all of the HOO characters. **

** Also, if I seem a little formal while writing, sorry. I'm reading Les Miserables right now, and it's really affecting my writing and talking. I'm talking all 1800s now and it's actually kind of funny :) **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

Annabeth's POV

The rest of the day passed by slowly. Annabeth could hear someone come into the cabin, but she didn't know who it was. She could only hear an extra set of footsteps.

Travis seemed worse than he looked. Every now and then he would wince and make a strangled sound and hold his head. The pain would pass and he would say it was nothing, but it didn't look like nothing.

So the day passed. Then another. And then another. They didn't even dare to talk about escaping, not after seeing what happened to Travis when Kronos found out.

But Annabeth knew that escaping was their only way out. All they needed to do was hotwire the car and leave. It seemed simple, except for the hotwiring part. Oh, and also the part that Kronos, Cortez, and Beckendorf all have a _gun._

So after what felt like a week (Annabeth couldn't tell how long had actually passed) the teenagers gathered in the girls' room and started talking about the plan (but of course they didn't tell Luke about it).

"Okay guys," Annabeth said after they gathered around in a circle. "We need a plan. A strategy."

"Why can't we just wait for the ransoms to be paid off?" Percy pointed out.

"Because, Seaweed Brain, most of our families are poor. We have not money to pay the ransom." Annabeth told him sternly. "First things first," Annabeth turned to the Stolls. "You can hotwire a car, right?"

They both nodded, though Travis was grimacing as he nodded. He still must've been in pain or something.

"Then all we really need to do is find a way to get out of our rooms at night." Annabeth said slowly. "Can you guys steal the keys?"

Connor looked wary. "Annabeth, hotwiring a car is one thing. Stealing keys off of the belt of a guy with a gun is another. It'd be pretty hard to do that."

"But not impossible." Annabeth added. "Do you think that you could do it while he's asleep?"

"Maybe…" Travis agreed. "But couldn't Beckendorf just get the keys from Kronos?"

"Not with his wife's life at risk." Thalia said.

"We still have to ask. There's a chance he'll get the keys."

"And if not?"

"Then we might have to wait to gain a little bit of Kronos's trust. If he thinks we're done with wanting to escape, then he might not keep the doors locked."  
_"Might._ He _might_ do this. He _might _do that. Geez, Annabeth, that's a lot of mights." Percy grumbled.

"It's better than not." Annabeth glared. "But this is our only chance if we don't get the keys from Beckendorf."

"Ask me what?" A gruff voice said from behind the group.

The teenagers jumped and saw Beckendorf examining them.

"Don't tell me you're trying to escape. Kids, trust me. Kronos always gets his revenge." Beckendorf warned.

"Come on, Beckendorf!" Annabeth pleaded. "If we leave first thing after Kronos goes to sleep then you can get the cops and they'll arrest Cortez before he hurts Silena!"

Beckendorf looked tempted but reluctant. "Fine, I'll give you the keys."

Annabeth felt more excited than she had ever been in her life. They would finally leave this death trap!

"But I'm not guaranteeing that you'll get out of here." Beckendorf continued. "And if you don't, then you'll have to face the consequences."

"We won't get caught." Annabeth said firmly, with the others agreeing with her.

Thalia held out her open hand and said smugly, "Now hand over the keys."

Annabeth wanted to punch Thalia for acting that way to someone who had a gun (even though he was sort of on their side) but Beckendorf didn't even look a little mad. He just put the keys into Thalia's hand and told them, "If you get caught, you stole these from me. I did not give them to you. Deal?"

"Deal." The teenagers chorused.

Beckendorf nodded and then said, "You better get to work."

* * *

The night came too quickly. They almost didn't have enough time to fill out any holes in their plan, but they managed. Finally Kronos locked the teenagers in their separate rooms and an hour later the guys snuck out and then unlocked the girls' room. They had decided to include Luke, mostly because Kronos would probably kill him if they made it, and also because he could help with escaping.

"Stolls, you ready?" Annabeth whispered.

"Totally." Travis grinned. Then he winced and pressed a hand to his head. After a second he sighed in relief and then said, "Guys, I think I have a concussion or something. I keep getting sharp pains in my head."

"We need to get you to a hospital." Katie told him and started examining his head. "It might be serious."

"Let's just get this over with." Travis said and then turned to Connor. "Come on, bro."

They snuck upstairs, passing Beckendorf, who was waiting on the couch upstairs.

"The doors unlocked. Kronos passed out half an hour ago." Beckendorf told them quietly.

The Stolls and Luke (who was going to help them hotwire the car) nodded and ran silently outside.

"Katie, go out there with them. They might need an extra hand." Annabeth instructed Katie.

Katie smiled. "Knowing Travis, he'll need the help."

Annabeth couldn't help but notice that Katie said _Travis_ and not _the Stolls._ She was so in love with Travis, it was amazing that he didn't know.

"Beckendorf, you might want to go out there with them too." Annabeth added after Katie left. "If Cortez comes up then they'll need the protection."

Beckendorf stood up unwillingly and said, "You're probably right. But you five are coming out here if Kronos wakes up. Close the door quietly and hope that he doesn't know that we're out here."

Thalia, Percy, Nico, and Annabeth all agreed.

Ten minutes have passed since Beckendorf left. The four that were waiting in the living room silently, not knowing what to say.

After what felt like an eternity Katie showed up in the doorway. She was grinning happily. "Guys! They started it!"

Right as she said that Kronos walked down the hall. His eyes narrowed as he saw the kidnapped teenagers out of their rooms.

"What are you doing?" He shouted.

"No," Annabeth whispered. They were so close! They were right by the door, but they couldn't run. Kronos had already drawn his gun.

Annabeth met eyes with the others. They had gone over this part in the plan, but didn't want for it to happen. Sadly, it did.

This part was simple: Thalia, Nico, and Luke would travel on foot to town. They would get the police so Silena wouldn't get hurt or killed. Katie, Travis, Connor, and Beckendorf would go to the hospital for Travis since his condition kept getting worse. **(A/N: see why Travis had to be the one taking the blame? They had to get to the hospital. I told you guys, it's the Butterfly Affect! [I just love that name...haha, butterflies :) ] Oh, so many memories...)** Percy and Annabeth would stay and try to fight Kronos or at least distract him so the others could get away.

At the same time Nico and Thalia ran out of the door with Katie following them. Annabeth saw Katie get in the car, say the code word for 'Kronos is here!' (which was carrot), and Luke get out of the car. She saw three figures disappear off into the distance as the car went down another road.

Percy launched himself at Kronos, who dodged. Annabeth watched them fight for a few seconds, dazed and confused about what just happened, but then snapped out of it and looked for a way to bring Kronos down.

"You kids are so stupid!" Kronos spat. "I have a gun and I will kill you all!"

"Oh, really?" Percy taunted. "I'd like to see you try!"

Kronos laughed. "You asked for it."

Percy punched Kronos in the gut and tried to grab his gun, but missed. Annabeth was about to help Percy when she couldn't see Kronos.

Percy turned to Annabeth and shouted, "Wise Girl!"

Annabeth didn't know what he was looking at, but his eyes were full of fears. Then her question was answered.

Annabeth felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against her right temple.

"You asked for me to try to kill you." Kronos whispered.

Fear flooded over Annabeth as she heard the bullet slide into place.

"I'm just doing what you asked." Kronos continued.

"Annabeth," Percy stared at Annabeth, his eyes filled with tears. "Don't shoot! Please, don't! Shoot me instead!"

"Too late." Kronos chuckled.

Annabeth's eyes met Percy's. She decided to make her last moment worth it. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she cried out, "Percy, I love you!"

Then the fatal shot was fired.

**Read and review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh, my gods, guys! I am so sorry that I haven't updated for so long! I was so busy, especially since it was third term. And I don't know about you guys, but third term is always the worst at my school :( Also, I think I'm going to make a sequel for this (I have an idea in my head how to put in all of the HoO characters) but it probably won't happen until this summer. School is getting really stressful and so I'm putting all my stories on hiatus (is that how you spell it?) until this summer. I might do some one-shots throughout the year, but only if I have free time, like on Sundays. So I'm going to end this story pretty soon, since it's kind of almost over :/ So...yeah. Enjoy this chapter!**

Percy's POV

Kronos held the gun against Annabeth's head. Percy tried not to cry, but it was hard. What could he do? He glanced around the room, but didn't see any potential weapons. A pillow wouldn't be very affective...

"You asked for me to try to kill you." Kronos whispered, an evil glint in his eyes.

No, Percy thought, no. She's my best friend! I've been through everything with her! When my dad was announced missing, she was the only one who comforted me! I love her! She can't die! I won't let her.

Kronos cocked back the gun. "I'm just doing what you asked."

Percy found his voice. "Annabeth." He stared at his best friend, tears forming in his eyes. Then he turned to Kronos. "Don't shoot! Please, don't! Shoot me instead!"

Kronos laughed. "Too late."

Annabeth finally met Percy's eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she shook with silent sobs. She choked out her final words: "Percy, I love you!"

Percy was shocked, but the sound of the fatal shot echoing through his ears brought him back to reality.

Percy prepared himself to see the worst thing no one should ever see: your best friend (and love) crumpling to the ground, dead.

But that did not happen.

Instead, Annabeth stood there, with the gun still pressed against her head. She had this look on her face that practically said: come on, I'm ready to die. So why am I not dead?!

Kronos shouted out a few curses and pulled back the gun. "It's empty!" He loosed his hold on Annabeth and she immediately backed away from him, disappearing.

It's empty? It's empty! _It's empty!_ Percy almost laughed. Fate has given Annabeth another chance. But then again, nothing comes free. There is always a price. So what would the price be?

Kronos answered his question. He pulled out another gun from under his coat. He had loosed his hold on Annabeth and she immediately backed away from him, disappearing.

Kronos pointed the gun at Percy and grinned wickedly. "And I know this one is loaded. I haven't used it for a week. The other one is stronger, but this one can kill too."

Percy's mouth felt dry. The gun was pointed at him. If he ran, he would get shot. If he stayed there, he would get shot. If he tried to fight, he would get shot. Well, the price was going to be paid.

Annabeth came up from behind Kronos and smacked one of the only weapons she could find: a vase. Why it was up there, in the cabin, know one knows.

Kronos shouted in pain but didn't lower his weapon. Instead he fired, not one, but three times: one in Percy's leg, one in his shoulder, and the last one hit his stomach.

Percy stood there for a minute, not feeling pain, but shock. He was practically paralyzed. Then the pain came. Percy's vision turned red and he collapsed on the ground. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He started coughing, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw he was coughing up blood.

He couldn't hear clearly, everything was muffled, but he watched as Kronos walked up to Percy and aimed his gun directly at his face. This time, there was no ifs. There was a predetermined ending, and Percy would not win.

But Kronos didn't fire. Instead, his head tilted to one side and blood began to pour from his mouth. He fell to his knees, and then laid down on the ground. There was a knife in his back, and Annabeth was standing behind him, breathing hard.

Annabeth immediately ran over to Percy. She rolled him onto his back and so that he was laying on her lap.

"Percy," she stroked his hair. "Hang on, help will be here soon."

Percy's vision was already fading. "Did you mean it?" He coughed up some more blood.

Annabeth didn't need to ask what he mean. "Yes, I did. I love you."

Percy tried to grin, but it hurt to much. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to live. "I love you, too."

His breathing got more jagged and it burned his lungs to breathe every breath. His vision began to go black.

"Hang on." Annabeth said urgently and gripped Percy's hand. "Please."

Percy nodded, promising both Annabeth and himself that he would make it. But it was hard. The pain was almost too much. Almost.

After a few hours, but maybe it was actually a few minutes, the pain made everything feel longer, people barged into the room. Percy recognized the uniforms: _they're cops._

One cop took one look at Percy and said into his walkie-talkie, "Bring an ambulance. Fast."

Percy looked at Annabeth and she nodded. "Just don't die on me, okay, Seaweed Brain?"

"Got it, Wise Girl." And with that, he slipped into unconsciousness.

**Read and review! Though I don't know why I say read after you already the chapter...so, I guess, review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**OH MY GODS, GUYS I AM SO SORRY! I AM SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON! I TOTALLY HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR LIKE, EVER! I FEEL SO BAD!**

**So, now that I have gotten out only part of my apology, let me say it again: I am a despicable human being. I haven't updated in so long, but you guys kept reviewing! I love you guys so much :) School has been pretty stressful, with the stupid final tests and projects and everything. I feel so bad. Please forgive me.**

**I will try to update as much as I can. Now that it's almost summer, it might be easier.**

**Oh, and sorry if I accidentally slip into present tense. I'm writing a couple stories in present tense so right now it's kind of a habit, so I'll try hard not to.**

**So, finally, here is another chapter of Ransom.**

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth didn't remember most of the ride. There was an ambulance, and she made the police officers to let her go with Percy in the ambulance.

Paramedics immediately helped him, but she could see the doubt in their eyes. The despair in their movements. They worked fast, but it seemed almost as if they were only working as fast as they were because Annabeth was there.

Percy didn't wake up in the ambulance. He was almost motionless, the only time he actually moved was when the paramedics would move him around to put in a tube or something.

"Will he be..." Annabeth trailed off, asking the paramedics. She couldn't finish the question. It couldn't happen. _It couldn't._

"You can never know for sure." One of the paramedics, a female, told Annabeth. But her eyes said different. Her tone said, _but in this case, it's pretty much a 99% chance that he's not going to live._

Annabeth choked on the thought and covered her mouth, trying to calm her breathing. _Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Just breathe._

The ambulance arrived at the hospital. The paramedics opened the back door and wheeled the chair that Percy was on out of the ambulance.

Annabeth tried to follow, but cops held her back.

"You can't go." One cop said. "Family members only."

"I am, though!" Annabeth couldn't help but shout. "I am his family!"

"What's your name then?" The cop had a smug tone laced through his words.

"Annabeth Ch-Jackson. Annabeth Jackson." She tried to make it sound like she was Percy's sister, but she couldn't help but think, _huh, Annabeth Jackson. I like the ring to that._

"Are you his sister?" The cop asked. He sounded uncertain, but he also sounded like he knew he was right.

"Of course." Annabeth said hastily. "I'm his sister."

"You look nothing like it."

"Well, I-"

A voice interrupted the conversation. "Oh, Annabeth! You're okay!"

Annabeth turned and saw the familiar blue, warm, comforting eyes. "Sally!"

Sally Jackson ran (more like stumbled) over to Annabeth, hugging her tightly. Annabeth ached all over, pain shooting from one spot to the next, but when Sally hugged her, the pain melted away. Sally had always seemed like a mother to Annabeth. A true mother. Not like Helen, her stepmother.

"Are you alright?" Sally's voice cracked. "Are you hurt? They called about Percy...oh, dear, where is he?"

When Sally pulled away for an answer, Annabeth couldn't speak. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. No words came out.

Sally's hand flew to her mouth. "Is he...is he...oh, Percy!"

She began sobbing horribly, her body shaking.

"He's not dead." Annabeth managed to say. Her mouth felt dry, like she hadn't had any water for months.

Sally stopped sobbing. She lifted her face and met Annabeth's eyes. Her own eyes were glistening with tears. "Is he okay?"

"He was shot. Three times." Annabeth whispered. "One in the leg, one in the shoulder, and one in the stomach."

Sally's tears flooded over silently. After a minute, she wiped her tears away and said to Annabeth, "What about you, dear? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Annabeth tried to smile, but it didn't work. "He didn't hurt me much. He almost killed me, but he didn't."

"He? Who is 'he'?"

"Kronos. The one who held us captive."

Before Annabeth or Sally could continue the conversation, the cop from before interrupted it.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but who are you?" He asked Sally.

"Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson's mother." Sally introduced herself.

"And is she," the cop nodded to Annabeth, "really your daughter?"

Sally's eyes met Annabeth's, then Sally nodded. "Yes, she is."

The cop nodded. "I'm Detective Carson, would you like to come with me to see your son? You won't be able to see him as they do the surgery, but he'll be out soon."

Sally and Annabeth both nodded eagerly and were led into the hospital.

"He'll be in room 3C." Carson told them. "Also, Annabeth, we will need you for questioning-"

"Not yet." Annabeth croaks out. She couldn't do it yet. She needed Percy by her side. "When Percy wakes up."

Carson nodded. _He must've dealt with this stuff a lot and knew what people needed at different times,_ Annabeth thought.

"When you're ready, tell us." With that, he turned and walked away.

Annabeth and Sally sat in room 3C. Annabeth told Sally all that happened while they were kidnapped. She explained who was there, why they were there, who kidnapped them, and both of their attempts to escape.

"Where are the others?" Sally asked.

"They got the cops. They're probably somewhere in the hospital. Travis had a severe concussion, I think, and needed help right away. Beckendorf needed to find and help his wife." Annabeth explained. "The others went so they could escape."

"Why did you and Percy stay?"

"Kronos. He found us. We were so close," Annabeth looked out the window. Her own voice sounded distant and vague. "But he found us. So Percy and I made a distraction while the others left."

"He was always so brave." Sally whispered. Then she frowned and said, "He _is_. He_ is_ always so brave."

Annabeth nodded. She could barely see now, her eyelids were so heavy. She leaned her head against the wall and heard Sally say, "Sleep, dear. You'll need it." That was the last thing she heard.

* * *

The inside of Annabeth's eyelids were red, indicating it was bright outside. She squeezed them shut, diminishing the light, but then she heard a familiar voice: "Annie, Annie-Annie-Annie."

"Percy?" She couldn't help but ask. But no, Percy didn't call her Annie.

"No, it's not Percy." The voice said. "Besides, do I really sound like a guy? I hope I don't. Especially not Percy. His voice is super deep."

Annabeth finally opened her eyes, looking into electric blue eyes. "Thalia?"

She sat up straight immediately. "Thalia! You're okay!" She hugged her new friend.

"I'm okay? I should be asking you that! You're the one who almost died!" Thalia exclaimed, hugging her back.

"Are the others here?" Annabeth asked when they pulled apart.

"Yep." Thalia said, popping the 'p'. "Nico is using the bathroom, Travis is in a room with a severe concussion," (Annabeth added silently in her head: I so knew it.), "Connor and Katie are with Travis, and Beckendorf is at home with Silena, who is safe."

Annabeth sighed with relief. She was so worried about them, that the grief of not knowing made her chest feel tight and she could barely breathe without her heart aching.

Then her heart stopped. "What about Luke?"

Thalia's eyes clouded over and filled with glistening tears. "Luke...he..."

"What?" Annabeth shouted. "What? What happened?"

"Cortez started shooting at the car." Thalia choked out. "Luke said he knew how to stop it. He got out of the car and got Cortez's attention. There was a cliff and he...he stood in front of it. Cortez ran over the cliff trying to get Luke, but Luke-Luke-he went over with the car!" Thalia started sobbing horribly, putting her head in her hands.

Tears fell down Annabeth's cheeks silently. "He's dead?"

"The cliff was nearly a hundred feet up, and the car exploded. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know he's dead." Thalia muttered.

"I'm sorry." Annabeth whispered. There was something nagging in the back of her mind, and she couldn't help but ask, "Did he tell you about his...problem?"

Thalia nodded, wiping her cheeks wet with tears. She stood up straight again and said, "He explained right before he left that he has...he had schizophrenia. His mother had it, and it was genetic, and he got it. He had medication to live a normal life, but since we were kidnapped, he didn't get the medication he needed. The...the voices in his head told him what to do. That's why he gave up our escape route and everything."

"Makes sense." Annabeth muttered. "It's horrible, and sad, but it makes sense."

Nico walked into the room. "Hey, Annabeth's finally awake. How're you?"

"Oh, you know, just dandy." Annabeth said sarcastically. "I've had the best past few weeks. It's great!"

"Shh," Nico put a finger to his lips. "You'll wake Sleeping Beauty."

Only then did Annabeth realize that Percy was on the bed in the room.

She rushed over to him and examined him quickly. He was alive. He was alive! His cheek was cut, his arm in a sling, his foot was held up on one of those things, but he was alive. And that's all that mattered.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, caressing his cheek softly. "Oh, Percy."

"It's a miracle." A new, foreign voice said. Annabeth whirled around and saw a doctor.

"I'm Mr. Jackson's doctor, Dr. Anderson." The doctor introduces himself, shaking all three of the teenagers' hands. "It's a miracle he's alive. Shot three times, in all of those places...it's pure luck. Too big of a miracle." Dr. Anderson chuckled. "He's a lucky boy. Every single spot he was shot in was just inches away from a fatal place."

"So he'll live?"

"Most likely, unless something bizarre happens. The best doctors and nurses in this hospital are working on saving his life." Dr. Anderson explained. "I'll give you some time alone with him, but don't expect him to wake up too soon."

And Percy didn't. He slept for three days straight. Annabeth wouldn't leave his side. No one could make her, and no one tried. She already went through enough.

On the fourth day, Annabeth found herself talking to Percy, even though he wasn't awake.

"So, Percy, you probably missed a lot of homework." She chuckled. "I guess I'll have to help you when you wake up."

She was silent for a minute, remembering what had happened before she thought she was going to die: _Annabeth's eyes met Percy's. She decided to make her last moment worth it. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she cried out, "Percy, I love you!"_

She shook her head, coming out of the flashback. It was too hard. She loved Percy. Is he going to die?

"Come on, Percy." Annabeth muttered, holding Percy's hand. She rubbed her thumb in his palm, massaging it. "You stupid Seaweed Brain, just wake up!"

She put her head in her hands and tried not to cry. It wasn't hard. She was already out of tears.

Then she heard something. A gasp.

She lifted her head slowly and her mouth opened. She couldn't believe her eyes. _Percy was awake._

* * *

**Sorry again that I haven't updated for so long! Ugh, I still feel bad. Well, whatever. Anyways, please read and review!**


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